The Supernatural World of Thedas
by Michelle Clover
Summary: On a tip from Bobby, Sam and Dean travel to a small town in Michigan to find the Trickster who seems to be up to his old tricks again. When they find themselves trapped in an alternate medieval world filled with magic and demons, they must learn to fight evil in a new way so they can find their way back to their own reality.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- Dragon Age has been an obsession of mine for a while now and I have recently gotten into the show Supernatural, so I decided, why not put the two together? So here's my humble attempt to write my first crossover fic. Characters and worlds courtesy of Bioware, Warner Bros. Television and Kripke Enterprises.**

It had been days since Sam and Dean Winchester had heard about anything strange going on. Dean was growing restless in the roadside motel where they had holed up and looking at the Pepto Bismol pink wallpaper with bright green ivy crawling up to the ceiling was just pissing him off. The oil paintings of flowery meadows hanging above the beds weren't exactly helping his mood either. There had to be something weird happening out there somewhere, but Sam just couldn't find it. He was pacing back and forth like a caged tiger when his cell phone began vibrating atop the cheap wooden table next to the window.

He picked it up and saw that it was Bobby. "Thank God" he sighed as he flipped it open. "Yeah, Bobby. What's up?"

"Hey Dean" the older man's voice sounded through the speaker. "I think I may have a lead for ya, if you're not too busy at the moment."

"I'll take anything ya got, just as long as it gets me out of Granny's no-tell motel in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere."

Bobby chuckled for a moment. "Well, it seems that an old friend of yours has resurfaced."

"An old friend?" Dean questioned with a scowl.

Bobby's idea of "an old friend" was usually someone the brothers hoped to never see again. Sam walked out of the bathroom, shirtless and toweling off his wet hair. He noticed Dean on the phone and his brow creased. "Is that Bobby? Does he have something for us?"

Dean nodded and held up a finger to let his brother know that he needed a minute to get the details while he listened for the old man to explain the situation.

"Yeah, it looks like our demi-god practical joker is up to his old tricks again."

The older Winchester grabbed a piece of pink hotel stationary and the pen next to it. He scribbled across the top corner to make sure it worked. When blue marks marred the surface he asked, "Where?"

He wrote down the few details that Bobby gave him and said a quick goodbye. He turned to his younger brother with raised eyebrows and a crooked smile. "Well, at least it's somethin'. Pack it up, Sammy. We're headed to Michigan."

Sam stared at him expectantly for a few seconds and shook his head. "Okay…so what's the job?"

"Trickster." Dean replied as he shoveled his clothes in his duffel.

"Ugh" Sam rolled his eyes. "Not that guy again. What's he doing this time?"

Dean chuckled as he slung his bag over his shoulder. "Nothing too nasty this time. Just a lot of very disappointed people."

"So, what happened?"

"Half the people in town won the million dollar lottery…two drawings in a row and all of the tickets came from one gas station. And get this…both times each person's winnings totaled sixty-six dollars and sixty cents."

"So...six, six, six?"

"Yeah" Dean snorted. "Some joke, huh?"

Sam grimaced and shook his head. "I don't know Dean…It sounds like it could be a trap…Like he's trying to lure us there."

The older brother arched a brow. "Of course it's a trap. But we've dealt with this son of a bitch before. I think it's time for a little payback."

Sam sighed. "I just don't want to get stuck in another 'Groundhog Day' loop again"

Dean slapped his hand to his little brother's shoulder. "But this time we've got one up on him. We know what to look for and I don't think he'll try to pull the same thing twice."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Sam mumbled under his breath.


	2. Chapter 2

**Holland, Michigan**

As his '67 Impala stopped at a red light near the local mall, Dean was in high spirits. He was just happy to be working on a case again, no matter what it was. Sam on the other hand seemed more sullen than usual. Dean smacked his brother on the bicep with the back of his hand.

"Cheer up, Sammy" he grinned. "This is gonna be a walk in the park compared to our last job. No demons or ghosts, just a demi-god who likes to play pranks."

The younger brother shook his head, his face set in a worried grimace. "Doesn't it seem a little weird to you that fifteen hundred and fourteen people all bought lottery tickets from the _same _gas station?"

Dean let out an easy laugh. "It'll certainly make the trickster easier to find."

Sam pursed his lips and sighed. "See, that's what I mean. He _wants _to be found. I don't like this Dean."

The Impala stopped in front of the station where the winning numbers were sold and the older Winchester turned off the engine before turning to his brother. He shrugged, giving Sam a crooked grin. "Maybe he just wants to say hi…catch up on old times."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Dean. Let's just go."

They walked into the convenience store in their black suits and ties and flashed a badge at the woman behind the counter. "State lottery inspectors" Dean told her. "We'd like to ask you a few questions."

The young lady shuffled her feet nervously. "This is about all of those winning numbers isn't it?"

"Yes ma'am" Dean nodded.

The blonde girl pointed toward the back of the store. "Just let me get my manager."

While they waited, Dean began looking through the display of key chains that was set up next to the register. They held the usual diatribe of funny and sarcastic sayings that were typical of the plastic fare and Dean actually found himself chuckling quietly at a few. Sam cleared his throat, gaining his older brother's attention and Dean stood straight before tugging at the bottom of his jacket.

The manager was a bitter-looking woman who looked to be in her mid to late sixties. She scowled at the two men standing at the counter before addressing them. "I don't know what more you want from me. I already told those other two inspectors everything I know when they were in here a couple of days ago."

Dean smirked. "Well you know how picky the government can be with its money."

The woman harrumphed. "Yeah, whatever. Look, I'm really busy. If you're going to ask me questions, ask."

This particular female was obviously immune to Dean's charms, so Sam decided he needed to intervene. "We have just a few questions ma'am and then we'll be out of your hair."

A broad smile crept across the older woman's face as she stared up at the younger Winchester. "Now you…you can ask me anything you like, handsome."

Dean turned his head and covered his mouth with his fist to hide his laughter. Sam shot him a dirty look before clearing his throat. "Yes, well…where was I? Oh yes…these tickets, were they all sold by the same person?"

She nodded. "Yeah, they were all sold by a girl named Rachel…Rachel Hamilton. I suspected something the first time, but after the second incident, I fired her."

"And do you have any idea where we could find Rachel?"

"She lives in the town just north of here. I have her employee information in the back. If you hold on a minute, I can go get it for you."

Sam nodded with a smile. "If you wouldn't mind, we would appreciate it."

Once the woman had disappeared behind the office door, Dean elbowed his brother in the ribs and leaned over. "I see you have a new girlfriend."

"Shut up" Sam hissed as the manager exited the back room. She passed a piece of paper to Sam. "I wrote down her address for you." She pointed to the name "Darla" and a number at the top and gave Sam a smoldering stare. "That's my name and my cell…if you need to reach me…or if you'd like to go out for a drink."

The younger Winchester smiled nervously. "Um…maybe some other time…Darla…when I'm not working a case."

She waggled her eyebrows. "I look forward to it."

Dean didn't even bother to hide his grin as they left the station. Once the brothers were back in the car and they were on the highway headed north, Sam sighed with frustration at Dean's apparent amusement.

"What?"

Still smirking, the older brother waggled his head. "Nothing."

"Just say it" Sam huffed.

Dean shrugged. "Say what?"

"Come on Dean. Just spit it out. I know you're dying to say it."

The older Winchester smacked his lips and arched his brows. "I don't know what you're talking about Sammy."

Sam turned his head to look out the window. "Fine" he muttered with annoyance.

After a few minutes, Dean turned to him. "So…Sammy…I bet you could hit that if you really wanted to."

"Shut up" Sam mumbled.

"You should really start a support group…Cougar lovers anonymous."

"Shut up, dude."

"I bet that broad was pretty hot when she was younger…you know…like fifty or sixty years ago."

Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head before turning the radio up. "Black Betty" was blaring through the speakers when they turned off the pavement onto the long dirt driveway of the address Darla had given them. The house was normal looking enough, if not a bit run-down. It was an older double-wide mobile home with a willow hanging over the roof on one side and a white porch leading to the front door. There were no cars parked near the house and it almost looked like it was abandoned. Dean checked the gun in his holster while Sam grabbed a stake dipped in the blood of one of the Trickster's victims from Crawford Hall out of the backseat.

Dean knocked on the door while Sam stood to the side, waiting to attack the Trickster as soon as he appeared. The door creaked open, but there was no one to be seen. Dean pulled his gun and the two slowly crept into the house. There was a blue sofa sitting in the living room against the three large windows that looked out into the front yard, but other than that, they found no other furniture in the room, not even a single picture on the wall.

Off to the right, they discovered a small room with a wooden desk and an open notebook computer laying on top. Sam snuck over to the computer and rans his finger across its touchpad to reveal a word processor. Before he got a chance to read the document, a cough caused him to jerk his head toward the doorway.

Standing there was a woman with short dark hair and bright blue-grey eyes who looked to be in her mid-thirties. She wore black jeans, a revealing black knit camisole and a knowing smirk on her full lips.

"I was beginning to wonder if you boys were ever going to show. I'm not sure I could've left you a more obvious clue."

"Nice disguise, asshole" Dean quipped. "Now what in the hell do you want?"

The Trickster tsked before pouting and batting her eyelashes innocently. "Now is that any way to talk to a girl? Especially in her own home…and after I sent you _such _a lovely invitation?"

Dean scowled. "Cut the crap and just tell us why we're here."

"Why to play of course" she replied cryptically.

The older brother rolled his eyes before snatching the stake from Sam's hand. "Play with this" he exclaimed as he drove the weapon through the Trickster's heart.

Her eyes went wide with surprise as she looked down at long piece of wood protruding from her body. She grabbed it with both hands and began shaking violently, gurgling sounds emanating from her throat. After only a few moments, the choking turned to laughter as she pulled the stake out and it landed at her feet on the laminate floor with a clank.

"Oh please" she chuckled. "You couldn't possibly be stupid enough to think that would work."

Sam shook his head with confusion. "But…how is that possible? A stake coated with the blood of a Trickster's victim is supposed to kill it."

"True" she shrugged. "But that wasn't one of _my_ victims."

Sam's brow furrowed. "Yes it is. We took that right off that guy that got tore up by the alligator a few years back."

"I hate to disappoint you kid," the Trickster smirked "but that's not really my style. Gabriel does like blood though, doesn't he? Although, I have to admit, that bit with the aliens was absolutely priceless."

Dean couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the memory before biting his lips together to gain his composure. "So, what is your style?"

"Unlike Gabriel," she explained as she ran the tip of her index finger down his bicep "I tend to be more…subtle with my games…or I come up with something so extravagant that no one would ever believe the victim." She grimaced. "I don't like blood. There's nothing funny about it. Also…too messy."

"So who are you?" Sam inquired.

"I have been given many names throughout the years, but I am probably best known as Thalia."

Sam wrinkled his nose with confusion. "Thalia? As in the Greek muse of comedy?"

"Well aren't you the smart one?" the Trickster asked before grinning proudly. "Yes, that's me. But…I got tired of inspiring mortals ages ago. There was just no fun in it."

"So you're a selfish muse?" queried Dean sardonically

She shrugged. "Maybe. Is there really anything wrong with that?"

"So why did you lure _us_ here?" Sam asked.

"All business as usual, I see" she observed before sighing. "Okay, here's the thing…I have been wracking my brain trying to come up with new ideas for a little project I've been working on and I think you boys are exactly what I need to complete that project."

"What kind of project?" Sam scowled hesitantly.

She waved a hand in dismissal. "That's not important. What is important is that you're here now and I'm anxious to get started."

Dean lifted his gun and placed it right in the middle of Thalia's forehead. "Look lady, I don't give a shit who you are. We have better things to do than waste our time with your little project or whatever."

A cat-like grin crept over her face. "Oh, I think you'll find that where you're going…you'll have all the time in the world."

Dean smacked his lips as if he were bored before pulling his finger back on the trigger. Instead of knocking the Trickster to the floor with a hole in her head, grey smoke and white light filled the room. Dean and Sam were immediately thrown from their feet as the floor opened up to a bright blue sky and they found themselves hurtling toward the ground several hundred feet below.


	3. Chapter 3

Dean had no idea how long he had been out when he woke up flat on his back. The sun was blazing down on him and he blinked several times as he shaded his eyes from the light and sat up. He was surprised to find that, although a bit sore, nothing seemed to be broken. He shook his brother's shoulder.

"Wake up, Sammy."

Sam rolled over and pulled himself up onto his knees. "What the hell was that? Where are we?"

Dean shrugged. "You're guess is as good as mine bro."

When they finally found their feet, Dean threw off his suit jacket, untucked his shirt and pulled the tie from around his collar before throwing it to the ground. As he rolled up his sleeves he nodded with an irritated expression.

"Oh that bitch is gonna pay."

"If we can even find her again" Sam reminded him.

The older brother grimaced. "Oh, we'll find her alright. As soon as we find our way out of here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell. When he flipped it open the words "No Service" appeared in bright red letters across the screen. "Great" he muttered.

Sam retrieved his phone and found that the screen had been smashed upon impact. He reached into his other pocket and found his iPod and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was still intact and functioning. "At least I saved this" he sighed as he scrolled through his list of songs. He frowned. "Wait a minute." He turned to Dean. "What the hell, dude? Where's my music?"

"You mean that new age bullshit you're always listening to?" He shrugged. "I changed it. Put some real music on there."

Sam shook his head in frustration. "You really suck, you know that?"

Dean arched his brows and let them fall. "Only if the chick's really lucky."

The younger brother looked disgusted. "Let's just go. Maybe we can find a town nearby so we can call Bobby."

As they walked along the dirt path, Dean grinned and took in a deep breath. "Smell that ocean air" he exclaimed. "At least that bitch dropped us near a beach. Maybe we can do a little swimmin' and surfin' while we're here."

"Dude, you don't know how to surf."

Dean shrugged. "I could learn."

His brother rolled his eyes. "Yeah…right" he mumbled. He gazed out at the expanse of water and stopped when something strange caught his eye. He stared at a crumbling ship near the coastline that had obviously crashed into the formation of jagged rocks next to it.

Dean continued to walk a few steps but turned around when he realized that Sam was no longer following him. He backtracked to his brother's position. "What's up Sammy?"

Sam frowned and waggled his head. "Weird."

Dean looked confused. "What's weird?"

The younger Winchester pointed out to the ship. "That."

His brother shrugged. "What? It looks like a boat got too close to the rocks."

"Yeah…but look at the boat. It looks like an old pirate ship."

"Maybe it's some kind of tourist attraction."

Sam took in his surroundings for a moment. "But you'd think if it was a tourist attraction there would be buildings or…or _something_."

"Who knows?" Dean said dismissively. He was just ready to get back to civilization so he could find Bobby and get his car back.

"There's just nothing here. No buildings, no people, no streets…not even a tire track from a bike…nothing."

"We'll figure it out when we find a town. To tell you the truth, I'm not really that comfortable walking around out here without so much as a knife to defend myself. My gun got knocked out of my hand when it went off."

"Yeah, I left mine in the car" Sam confessed. Dean flashed one of his are you fucking serious looks at his brother causing Sam to shrug. "What? I thought I wouldn't need anything but the stake."

"Just come on" Dean growled with frustration.

As they made their way around the winding path that seemed to be cut in the side of the foothills of some mountain range, both brothers spied what looked like buildings on a nearby cliff. "Is that a town?" Sam asked.

"Looks like it to me" Dean replied with a relieved smile.

"It almost looks like it's carved into the side of that cliff" Sam observed curiously.

"Who cares" his brother retorted. "Let's just get there so we can get the hell out of here."

They began to hurry faster toward the town in the distance, when they were stopped short by three humongous spiders blocking their path. "What the fuck are those?" Dean cried as the creatures drew nearer.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were spiders" Sam replied, backing away.

"I didn't know spiders could grow that big."

The younger brother shook his head. "As far as I know, they can't."

Just then, large balls of fire began raining down from the sky. Sam and Dean ducked behind some nearby rocks as the spiders began making high-pitched screaming noises. Suddenly a woman dressed in white armor ran into the group of creatures and began hacking away. A large shard of ice bolted toward them and froze one of the beasts in place while another woman in a short white dress and high brown boots appeared out of nowhere and shattered the frozen spider on the spot with a couple of long, wicked looking daggers.

When the last spider was lying on its back, the brothers heard a female voice yell out in a British accent. "You're safe now. You can come out."

Still shaken by the events, Dean slowly peeked out from behind the large boulder he and Sam were hiding behind. Standing in front of the two women who had been fighting the spiders was another woman. She was tall and thin with long dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her blue-green eyes shone like polished turquoise and Dean couldn't help but notice she was extremely attractive. She was dressed neck to toe in black leather; black leather boots that went up just past her knees, tight black leather pants, a black leather cropped tank top that laced up the front and showed off a great deal of cleavage, black leather gloves and a black leather, form-fitting, Nehru collared duster that went down to her ankles. She reminded Dean of something out of the movie "The Matrix". On her back, she carried a long black metal staff with a red orb surrounded by spikes on one end and a sharp red blade on the other.

"Are you hurt?" she asked. "Do you need healing?"

Dean shook his head, his face dead serious. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing here Trinity, so why don't you just give us the blue pill right now so we can hop a bus back to reality before things get nasty?"

The two women with blades brandished their weapons, obviously unimpressed by Dean's threat. The woman in black arched a brow. "Just so you know, I have no idea what you're talking about. My name's Hawke by the way."

Sam held up his hands to try to diffuse the situation. "Look, Miss…Hawke."

"Just Hawke" she corrected.

"Okay, Hawke…my name's Sam and this is my brother Dean. Something…happened and we woke up…here. We have no idea where we are or how we got here."

A small smirk played at one corner of Hawke's lips. "Bandits? Or was it pirates? I can never be too sure around here. There are so many of both."

Dean's head snapped back. "Pirates?" Then a realization crept over him. "Oh, I get it. This is one of those Renaissance faire things isn't it?"

"Excuse me…what?" she questioned with confusion.

"You know, where geeks with no lives dress up in costumes and pretend their back in the middle ages." The older Winchester shook his head with a grin. "I can't believe I didn't see it before." He pointed to each of the women in turn. "A warrior, a pirate…" When he got to Hawke he stopped for a moment, "a…Jedi…or something?"

The woman with the skimpy white dress furrowed her brows and stared at Dean skeptically before addressing Hawke. "I think they must have hit their heads or something." She put a hand on her hip and looked Sam up and down like a hungry lion eyeing a big steak. "Although, the big one's kind of cute. Sam wasn't it?"

"Um…yes…yes ma'am" he stammered nervously.

"I'm Isabela" she told him before giving him a saucy wink. "Maybe you and I can get to know each other more…intimately."

Dean nodded and tilted his head to the side with a grin. "Hell, I'd take her up on that offer."

Isabela's smile widened. "Mmmm…brothers. That could be fun."

"Isabela" Hawke admonished with a sigh.

"Can't keep those legs of yours closed for even five minutes, can you whore?" the other woman snorted.

"At least they don't creak like a rusty hinge when I spread them" the pirate shot back.

Hawke rubbed at her brow and sighed loudly. "Will you two please stop. You've been at it for nearly an hour. Between the two of you and Anders and Fenris, it's no wonder I have a constant headache lately."

"Oh you love us and you know it" Isabela elbowed her playfully.

"And that's the only thing that keeps me from hitting you over the head with the blunt end of my staff most days."

"Excuse me," Dean interrupted with irritation in his voice. "As much as I love to see two busty babes rolling around tearing each other's hair out, could you please get back to telling us where in the hell we are?"

Hawke chuckled. "Well Dean…it is Dean isn't it?" He gave her a curt nod. "Well Dean, you are currently on the Wounded Coast headed for Kirkwall."

"We're in Scotland?" Sam asked with bewilderment.

Once again, Hawke stared at him like he was completely insane. "No…the Free Marches."

The older brother shook his head. "Where the hell is the Free Marches? Some run-down piece of backwoods shit town in England?"

"What the bloody hell is England?" she inquired.

Dean harrumphed. "Lady, you are about a dozen eggrolls short of a combination plate." He turned to his brother. "Come on, Sammy. We'll find our own way to town."

As they began to walk away from the three women, Hawke looked back over her shoulder. "That's fine boys, but I think it's only fair to warn you that there is a whole nest of spiders that way."

Dean stopped in his tracks and shivered before circling to face her again. "A whole…nest?"

"Yes" she nodded with a crooked smile. "But there can't be more than a good dozen or so…so you boys have fun."

He looked up at Sam. "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to tag along with them for a while."

His brother shrugged before stealing a glance at Isabela. She licked her lips slowly and Sam grinned. "Yeah, what could it hurt?"

Dean rolled his eyes before addressing Hawke again. "So how 'bout it? Do you mind having some company for a little bit?"

"Do you know how to handle a blade?" she inquired.

"We've got _some_ experience with knives."

"Good" she said before reaching into her boots and pulling out two daggers. She twirled them in her hands for a moment before holding them out for the brothers to take. "I'd hate for you to lose those handsome heads of yours." Dean smirked as he took the knife from her. "Handsome, huh?"

"Don't let it go to your head, sweetheart" the mage retorted. "I'm more impressed by skill than good looks…I'll need those back, by the way."

Dean's green eyes danced with mischief as he took a step closer to her. "Maybe we can work out a deal. You let me show you my...skills and I'll give you back the pig sticker."

She smirked. "If you can manage to keep your head on the way back…we might just have a bargain."


	4. Chapter 4

On their way back into the city, Hawke discovered that Dean and Sam actually were quite handy with a blade. They weren't as skilled as Aveline or Isabela by any stretch of the imagination, but they were able to hold their own well enough. They both seemed a bit shocked the first time she used her magic in front of them, but it wasn't as if she hadn't endured those types of looks before. During the more quiet moments of the journey, Isabela flirted shamelessly with Sam, which caused the younger man to blush brightly several times. Dean, however, kept quiet most of the time. She kept waiting for him to ask her more questions, but he didn't. The only times he made any sound at all was during battle and he used some colorful language which caused Hawke to smile in spite of herself.

On top of the spiders she warned them about, there were the usual bandits on the long road. Both men seemed so lost and confused, that she couldn't stop wondering where in Thedas they came from. They were obviously insane, but at least they weren't blood mage or Qunari-hating insane like most of the denizens of the city.

When they finally reached Hightown, exhausted and covered in blood and entrails, she considered leading them to the Hanged Man to get them a room, but changed her mind in the end. They would be sitting ducks at the Lowtown tavern and probably end up in the Gallows before the night was out…or dead. Instead, she took them back to her estate. Bodahn eyed the brothers curiously as they walked through the door behind his mistress, but as usual, he kept his thoughts to himself. Anders was waiting inside by the fireplace and turned to her when he heard the door shut.

He ran over and squeezed her around the shoulders. "Thank the Maker you're alright" he exclaimed with relief. "What were you thinking traipsing off to the Wounded Coast with just Isabela and Aveline?"

Hawke pulled away. "I'm a big girl, Anders. I think I can take care of myself."

"I know" he admitted. "I just worry for you when you do such things. What if you had gotten hurt and I wasn't there to heal you?"

"I'm fine, Anders. Stop fussing. You sound like my mother."

He sighed and looked up to finally see the two strangers standing behind her. "More strays Hawke?"

She flashed a smile at Dean and he smirked. "Yes, I found them wandering along the coast. Attacked by pirates, maybe. They don't remember.

Anders, obviously noticing the exchange, scowled. "So they just followed you home then?"

She shrugged. "They were lost so I thought I would help them out." She put a hand to the blonde mage's chest. "Look, Anders…I'm tired and dirty and a little hungry. I just want to slip into a bath and then some clean clothes and just rest for the remainder of the evening."

He jerked his head toward the brothers. "And what of them?"

"I figured they could stay here…in the guest room."

Anders brow furrowed. "I don't know Hawke. Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"I'll be fine, Anders." She glanced over at the two men dripping spider and bandit blood onto the floor. "I would like to ask a favor…if you wouldn't mind."

The tall mage smiled. "Anything for you, Hawke. You know that."

She reached into her coin pouch at her belt and pulled out a few sovereigns. "Would you mind going into the square and purchasing some clothes for my guests? I don't think they have anything else to wear."

Anders sighed with frustration. "Sure" he conceded. "What should I buy?"

"A couple of pairs of trousers and a couple of shirts should do for tonight" she replied. "We'll worry about armor tomorrow."

After Anders left, Hawke turned to the two men who were standing quietly in front of the entry hall. "Anders should be back shortly with some clothes for you so you can get cleaned up. I'm going to go take a bath. If you need anything before I get back, let Bodahn know." They silently nodded as she turned and headed for the back of the manor.

"Hey Hawke," Dean called out.

She peered at him from over her shoulder. He was fidgeting a bit as if he had some sort of chill. "Yes?"

"Do you have another bathroom I could use? I gotta piss like a Russian racehorse at the Kentucky Derby with a glue truck behind it."

Hawke chuckled and shook her head. She still couldn't understand half of what Dean was talking about. The one word she did know, however, was piss. "You mean the privy?" she asked.

"Whatever" he groaned while practically jumping up and down. "Can I take a leak there?" Her eyebrow raised questioningly.

Sam looked worried as he watched his brother who seemed to be in terrible pain. Wide-eyed he nodded at Hawke. "Yes, he means the privy."

"Oh" she laughed. "Yes, it's to the left, behind the library."

"Thank you" he sputtered as he made his way to the door, bending at the waist and holding his hand to his privates.

Hawke turned to head toward the bathing room once more and had just closed the door behind her when she heard Dean holler, "Oh HELL no!"

* * *

Sam watched with confusion as Dean scrambled past him to the front door. He ran after his brother who had become quite wild-eyed and desperate-looking. Dean scurried toward the rear of Hawke's house, his face scrunched up in pain until he spotted the garden gate in the back. He hurried toward it and jerked it open before hobbling toward a large tree. Without even checking his surroundings, he unzipped his pants and the sound of pouring water echoed throughout the garden. Pure relief washed over the older Winchester's face as he closed his eyes, tilted his head back and sighed with contentment.

Sam shrugged before taking his place beside his brother to relieve himself as well. When they were finished and headed back toward the front of the estate, Sam turned to his older brother. "So why didn't you just use the privy?"

"You're kidding right?" Dean questioned with a disgusted expression. "That thing made porta-jons look sanitary. I damn near died from the smell."

"So it's what…like an outhouse indoors?"

Dean screwed up one side of his face and nodded. "Pretty much…yeah. Except for the fact that it had no seat. Just a big hole in the middle of the floor. When these people go all middle ages, they go all out."

"Hmmm" Sam mumbled to himself.

"I know that look, Sammy. What's spinnin' around in that big Cro-Magnon head of yours?"

Sam shook his head. "Let's just say, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore Toto."

"Of course we're not in Kansas. Hell, we didn't even leave from Kansas."

"You know what I mean." He stopped right outside the front door to the estate and put a hand to the left side of his brother's chest. "Dean, don't you see it? We're not at some kind of medieval renaissance faire." He lifted his hands to indicate his surroundings. "All of this…it's real. I don't even think we're on Earth anymore. The names Hawke mentioned…other than Kirkwall, there aren't any places like that in the history books. Not only that, but Hawke was doing magic…real magic."

Dean waved his hand dismissively. "That was just some kind of computer generated pyrotechnics show."

"What about those spiders?"

"Robots" the older brother replied smugly.

Sam pulled at his shirt. "Have you ever seen a robot spout real blood? I didn't see any wires on the ones I put down, did you?"

"So what? You're sayin' that bitch threw us into some parallel universe?"

Sam nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

Dean patted his little brother on the shoulder. "Well, you know what? It might be nice to get away from demons for a while. It'll be like our own little medieval vacation."

"You call fighting off giant spiders and bandits a vacation?"

The older brother shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

He turned the handle of the door and walked back inside. The tall blonde man dressed in a tan waistcoat with green feathers on his shoulders was waiting by the fireplace. He gave them a tight-lipped, forced smile. "I thought you might have left."

Dean chuckled. "Yeah, you hoped's more like it."

"Look," he began "I care about Hawke a great deal. She puts herself in enough danger as it is without needing to worry about babysitting two grown men she found wandering around the coast. I cannot do anything to stop her when she has her mind set on something, but you can be damned sure that I will be watching the two of you very…very closely."

"Is that supposed to be some sort of threat, Blondie?" Dean asked with a sneer. A bright blue light flashed across the other man's eyes for a split second and Dean pulled out the knife that Hawke had given him. "And here I was thinking that we weren't going to have to deal with any demons for a while."

The blonde man lifted his hand, letting off a gust of warm air which knocked Dean from his feet and into the wall behind him. Sam started to run for the man and his feet lifted from the floor as he began to shake uncontrollably. As Dean scrambled to get up from the ground, Hawke's voice rang out from behind her friend.

"Alright, everyone stop right this minute" she yelled. "Anders, release Sam right now."

"But they tried to attack me" he reasoned.

"Yeah" huffed Dean. "We're kind of inhospitable like that when it comes to demons."

He ran toward Anders, the dagger lifted high above head. Hawke stood between them and held her hands out, stopping Dean in his tracks. He was panting like a rabid dog as he stared the other man down. "Hold on" she demanded. "This is my house and you're going to simply ruin my furniture if you keep this up." She turned to Dean first "Dean, put the dagger away." Then she addressed the other man. "Anders, let Sam go…now." The blonde man waved his hand angrily and Sam dropped to the floor like an old sack of potatoes.

Once he had a few seconds to calm down, Dean took notice of Hawke's new attire. She looked fantastic in leather, of course, like an S&M goddess, but her new digs were even better. Her feet were bare as were her legs all the way up to a thigh-high, red silk mini-skirt. Her legs were muscular and about a mile long. On top she wore a matching corset vest that was skin tight and barely covered what the good Lord gave her. Dean felt a stirring down below as he stared down at one of the nicest pair of tits he had ever seen.

Hawke snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Yes, I know I have great tits, but I would appreciate it if you would look at my face when I'm speaking."

"Yes," Anders agreed angrily "avert your eyes or I'll do it for you."

"Anders," Hawke sighed "I think it would be best if you leave."

"But…" he protested.

"No buts," she told him. "I need a chance to talk to Sam and Dean…alone. There are obviously some things that I need to explain to them. I will see you in the morning at the Hanged Man for breakfast. Hopefully, after I get a few things settled, we can all enjoy a nice meal together."

Anders shoulders slumped with defeat and he nodded. "Okay…but you know where to find me if you need me."

Hawke nodded solemnly and the blonde man made his way to the door. Just before he turned the handle, she called out, "And don't you dare go telling anyone about any of this either. I have a handle on the situation."

He sighed loudly and without another word walked out the door and slammed it shut behind him. Hawke rolled her eyes before returning her attention to the brothers. "Now, for you two. Bodahn is filling the tub with fresh water as we speak." She handed them each a bundle of clothes. "Take these and go get washed up. You both stink like week old corpses. When you're all finished, we will sit down and have a nice chat." Dean chuckled at the fact that this stunning woman knew what a week old corpse smelled like as he looked down at the clothes in his hands. "Oh, and I'm sorry by the way" she added. "I forgot to tell Anders to pick up smallclothes for you, so you'll just have to do without them until tomorrow…unless you'd like to try to squeeze into a pair of mine that is."

Dean arched a curious brow toward his brother. "Underwear" Sam whispered.

"Oh" Dean nodded with understanding before flashing a crooked grin at Hawke. "It won't be the first time I've gone Commando and probably not gonna be the last."

Her turquoise eyes drifted down to his groin for a moment. He was still sporting a raging case of wood. "Interesting," she muttered quietly as she stared into his green eyes. Dean's cheeks flushed. He couldn't believe it. A woman actually made him blush. That hadn't happened in years. She smirked. "Maybe I should have told Bodahn to make yours a cold bath."

A nervous laugh escaped Dean's lips before he turned and quickly headed through the door next to the big wooden desk under the balcony. Sam fell in step behind him and soon they found themselves in a narrow corridor.

After trying a few doors, they finally found the room with the tub. It looked to be made of thick metal and steam rose from the water inside. Dean quickly pulled off his boots, socks, trousers, underwear and shirt and slipped into the tub before Sam even had his shirt off. The water turned bright red almost immediately and Dean quickly scrubbed up as best he could and jumped out.

Sam wrinkled up his nose at the murky water. "How am I supposed to get clean in that shit?"

Dean pulled the white linen shirt Hawke had given him over his head and grinned. "That's your problem, little bro. If you want, I could get that midget servant of Hawke's to get you some fresh water."

Sam pursed his lips with annoyance. "Yeah, so you can have more time alone with Hawke, right?"

"Maybe" his older brother shrugged. "Ya gotta admit, she's a babe."

"Fine" Sam conceded. "Go ahead and get the little guy to get me some more water 'cause I'm not stepping foot in _that_."

Dean waggled his brows up and down with a wide smile. "Will do, Sammy" he called back as he opened the door and walked out of the room whistling "You Shook Me All Night Long" all the way down the hallway.


	5. Chapter 5

When Dean walked out into the main room of the house, Hawke's servant led him into the dining hall which stood next to the kitchen off the west corner of the library. The dwarf's mistress was sitting at the end of a long, polished wooden table with several steaming plates of food set out on its surface. Dean couldn't help but think that it was an awful lot of food for the three of them, but he wasn't going to question the local customs. Hawke smiled at him as he took a seat next to her. He was starving, but didn't really recognize most of the dishes that were available and he wasn't sure what he wanted.

"Is something wrong?" asked Hawke when her guest didn't immediately make a plate for himself.

He shook his head. "No…I'm just not sure what any of this stuff is. I mean I recognize the mashed potatoes, but I'm kinda lost after that."

She tilted her head and stared at him with amused curiosity. "What do you usually eat?"

He shrugged. "American food…burgers, fries, chips…pie."

"I don't know what a burger or fries are," Hawke admitted before pointing to a platter holding several small meat pies. "But we have steak pies and mince pies. Take your pick."

Dean crinkled his nose. "No…that's not what I meant…I'm talking apple pie or cherry pie…you know? The sweet stuff."

"Oh, you mean dessert? Isn't it customary where you come from to have your dinner first?"

"Yeah…unless it's breakfast." He clicked twice with the left side of his mouth and gave her a wink. "Nothing better than a big ole slice of apple pie for breakfast."

"I tried that once when I was about seven years old." Hawke confessed. "I got up earlier than everyone else that morning and saw a berry pie left over from supper the night before sitting on the kitchen counter. The worst part of it probably was the fact that, instead of trying to get a slice, I just grabbed the pan and a fork and began eating. Mother was furious with me, but my father just laughed and joined me."

As if on cue, a grey-haired older woman that looked quite a bit like Hawke walked through the door. "I always said that man was too lenient with you, Livvy."

Dean's eyebrow shot upward. "Livvy?"

Hawke sighed. "I'll explain later." She turned to the older woman who was just sitting down at the table across from Dean. "Mother, I thought you were staying at Uncle Gamlen's tonight."

The other woman grabbed a sausage with her fork and put it on her plate. "I intended to, but Gamlen began drinking and was starting to become belligerent so I decided to come home." When she finished serving herself, she smiled warmly at Dean. "Livvy, aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?"

Hawke gave an easy laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry mother. This is Dean." She turned to him. "Dean, this is my mother, Leandra."

Instinctively, Dean wiped his hand on the leg of his trousers and held it out across the table for Leandra. Hawke's mother stared at it with a strange expression before timidly moving hers across the wooden surface as well. Dean grabbed it and gave a hearty shake. "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Hawke."

Her brow creased and she smiled. "And you as well, Dean…but please, call me Leandra."

Dean gave a quick nod before returning his attention back to the food on the table. He still wasn't sure what he wanted, so he just started grabbing a few things that either looked somewhat familiar or at least somewhat appetizing. He found that the steak pie wasn't bad and the stew was decent as well. Bodahn appeared after they began eating and brought a mug of what looked like beer. Even though it was warm and wasn't as good as Margiekugel, it was drinkable and even had a bit more of a kick than he was accustomed to.

Sam still wasn't out of the bath and Dean hadn't even made it through half of his meal when the tinkling of bells began sounding throughout the house. A few moments later, a blonde man about the same size as Hawke's servant came waltzing into the room. Unlike Bodahn, he had no beard, but the vest he wore beneath his brown duster showed off quite a bit of chest hair. On his back he carried a crossbow that had a trigger like a gun.

"Looks like I'm just in time" he exclaimed with a wide grin.

"Impeccable timing as always, Varric" Hawke observed. "Would you like to join us?"

"Don't mind if I do."

The dwarf took a seat next to Leandra and began filling the plate in front of him. He was just about to take his first bite, when he noticed Dean sitting across the table. He held out his hand to Hawke's guest and smiled. "Varric Tethras, at your service." Dean took his hand and shook it. "And you are?"

"Dean Winchester…pleased to meet you."

Varric turned his attention back to his food and had only taken a couple of bites when the door chimes rang again. This time, the pirate that they had traveled back to the city with entered. Without waiting for an invitation, she sat down next to Dean and served herself. She turned to the older Winchester.

"Hey sweetie, where's that brother of yours? Is he going to be joining us for supper?"

"He's getting washed up" Dean explained. "He should be here in a few minutes."

"Maybe I should go give him a hand" the pirate smirked.

"They'll be plenty of time for that later, I'm sure Isabela" Hawke told her. "Just eat your food before it gets cold."

"Yes, mommy" the other woman retorted.

Another ring brought an auburn haired man dressed in white armor carrying a bow and arrows. His hair was slicked back on top and he reminded Dean of one of those televangelists from the eighties. "Am I late?" he asked with a heavy Scottish accent upon entering.

Hawke shook her head. "No Sebastian, you're right on time. We just got started a little early."

He gave a nod and took the seat next to Varric and began speaking to Hawke about someone named Elthina. Dean was beginning to see why Hawke had put out so much food. It seemed like everybody and their grandmother was showing up for supper. He just hoped that Hawke's friend Anders decided not to make another appearance. Before he had time to dwell on it too much, a short girl with dark-brown hair that hung in small braids around her head and pointed ears like a Vulcan came in. Like Isabela, she simply sat down and began chatting happily with the others at the table. She seemed oblivious to Dean's presence as she shoveled food in her mouth and prattled on about the latest goings-on around the city. Soon after, Aveline-the armored woman from the coast-made her appearance and joined them at the table and Dean was beginning to wonder what was taking Sam so long.

The next person to enter the room was a sullen-looking man dressed in spiky black armor. He had white hair and strange white tattoos all over his skin. He stopped at the end of the table and stared right at Dean with a frown.

"Who are you?" he asked in a deep voice.

Suddenly, everyone turned to Dean. The two people who were already at the table who hadn't noticed him up until that moment stared blankly at him.

Hawke smiled. "Everyone, I'd like for you to meet my new friend Dean…Dean, you already met Varric, Isabela and Aveline." She then pointed to the rest of her friends in turn. "This is Sebastian, Merrill and the very grumpy looking elf over there is Fenris."

Sebastian gave a polite nod while Merrill grinned widely and said, "It's very nice to meet you Dean. I don't remember seeing you before. Are you new to Kirkwall? It can be very confusing here with all of the twists and turns. I'm only getting used to it all myself. Varric helped me with that. He drew maps for me and gave me a big ball of twine so I could find my way home. Maybe he could do the same for you."

She spoke so quickly that Dean was reminded of a thirteen year old junior high girl. He knew he should probably respond, but all he could do was blink with confusion. Luckily, Sam's appearance saved him from speaking.

"Well, hello there handsome" Isabela crooned as she patted the seat next to hers. "I saved you a spot right over here."

Sam chuckled as he quickly made his way to the pirate's side and sat down.

"And this is Dean's brother, Sam" Hawke told them all.

Even though the evening wasn't exactly what Dean was hoping for, he did enjoy himself. Anders eventually showed up near the end of the meal and largely ignored Dean's presence, although he did talk to Sam a bit. Leandra turned in right after she finished eating so her daughter and her friends could have some privacy, leaving the rest to begin drinking in earnest. Dean found out that Aveline was Captain of the City Guard. Varric enjoyed telling stories and seemed to like the sound of his own voice. Merrill was some sort of gypsy that recently decided to leave her clan and live in the city. Isabela had been a pirate captain whose ship had been destroyed during a storm. Sebastian was just a bit too self-righteous for Dean and talked at length about the Maker. Anders was a doctor of sorts that used magic to heal people in a free clinic in the poorer part of the city and he kept going on…and on…and on about the injustice of the treatment of mages.

In fact, the only two people at the table he didn't really know much about by the end of the night were Fenris and Hawke. Fenris remained quiet, staring holes through Dean most of the time and Hawke seemed happy to just let everyone else speak. By the time the night was over, Sam was making out with Isabela and the rest of Hawke's friends were good and sloshed. The only one who seemed to stay sober other than Dean was Anders. Hawke was even staggering a bit when she walked the others to the door. Isabela assured Dean that she would take care of Sam and that he would get his brother back the next morning in one piece. Dean just laughed and told Sam to have fun. Anders insisted on staying the evening, but luckily Hawke kicked him out shortly after the others left, finally leaving her and Dean alone.

She took him by the hand and led him to the sofa sitting in front of the fireplace, grabbing a bottle of whiskey from a nearby table as they went. Once they were seated and comfortable, she took a swig from the bottle and passed it to Dean.

She smiled. "So, now that we've gotten through that little debacle, tell me about yourself Dean."

He shrugged. "Nothing much to tell."

"Oh come on" she insisted. "I know you've been dying to get me all to yourself all night. So now that we're alone…talk."

Dean sat forward, his forearms resting on his thighs and smirked back at Hawke. "I've got a better idea. How about we do a little Hannibal Lecter quid pro quo?"

The dark-haired woman's eyebrows raised with skepticism. "And what is that?"

"Simple, you ask a question, I answer it and in return I get to ask you a question that you have to answer."

"Sounds easy enough" she agreed. "I suppose my first question would be, where are you from?…if you remember that is."

"I guess you could say that I'm from another world."

"Could you clarify that statement or will I have to wait for my next turn?"

Dean chuckled. "I mean, I'm from another world. Sammy and me literally dropped from the sky. One minute, we were standing in some bitch's living room and the next we ended up here." He paused for a moment. "Your mom called you Livvy and I'm guessing that's your first name. So is Hawke some kind of superhero alternate ego for you or something?"

Hawke waggled her head with a laugh. "I don't know what a superhero is, but Hawke is my surname. My full name is Olivia Marian Hawke. When my family moved here from Ferelden nearly five years ago, I was forced to take a job as a mercenary to buy my way into the city. I suppose that Olivia wasn't intimidating enough, so Meeran just called me Hawke and it just sort of stuck…What is the name of the place you are from?"

"Originally, I'm from a little Podunk town called Lawrence, Kansas. It's in the United States…That blonde guy, Anders, is he your boyfriend?"

"No, although I'm sure he wants to be" she replied casually. "What do you for a living? You and your brother?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it a job. We don't exactly get paid for what we do, but we travel around and…investigate…weird shit."

"Care to elaborate?"

"You're not going to believe me."

"Give it a try. I might be more receptive than you imagine."

Dean sighed. "We hunt demons…and ghosts…werewolves, vampires, shape shifters…if it's strange and unusual, we go after it…What about the guy with all the attitude? White hair, pointy ears? Is he your boyfriend?"

"You mean Fenris?" She shook her head. "No…not for lack of trying on my part, though. He's a bit of an emotional infant…if you know what I mean."

"Wham, bam, thank you ma'am?"

She peered down at the bottle in her hand. "You could say that" she replied before taking a long draw. "And before you attempt to pry any further into my love life, I will go ahead and just tell you now…I don't have one…a boyfriend I mean. I made the decision after Fenris to put romance on the backburner. There's just too much other shit for me to deal with to carry any emotional baggage on top of it as well."

Dean chuckled with a crooked grin. "Yeah, I know exactly how that goes. You said you were a mercenary when you first moved here, but what do you do for a living now? What's your job? You must be somebody pretty important to be living in a set up like this."

Hawke shrugged. "Not really. My mother's family owned this estate. They were nobles in Kirkwall for many generations, but after my grandparents died, my uncle lost everything in a card game. I was born in Ferelden. My father was an apostate and my mother ran away with him after she found out she was pregnant with me. I never even met my grandparents."

"So what's an apostate?"

"It's a mage who lives outside of the Circle." When Dean looked completely confused by the explanation, Hawke tried to elaborate. "The Circle is a place that mages are taken to when they are found to have magical ability. Most are taken when they are very young, but some exist outside of the Circle for years before they are found."

"So it's a magic school…like in those Harry Potter books."

Hawke scowled. "I don't know who Harry Potter is, but the Circle isn't really a school. I mean, mages are taught to use their powers, but only in a way that the Chantry would approve. From what Anders told me, the Circle in Ferelden does function more like a school, but here in Kirkwall, it's more a prison than anything else."

"The Chantry? Is that some sort of government agency?"

She waggled her head. "No…and yes, I suppose. The Chantry is a religious organization based on the teachings of Andraste."

"So your God is named Andraste?"

"No. The Maker is our God. Andraste was his prophet and his bride who was put to the flames by the Tevinter Imperium."

"The Tevin Im-whatium?"

"The Tevinter Imperium" Hawke replied with a slight giggle. "It's a land to the north. It's a lot to explain in one sitting, but basically the Tevinters wanted to rule Thedas. Andraste formed an army to fight against them. Eventually she was captured and killed, but her legacy remained. Those who followed her eventually drove the Imperium back and sometime afterward, the Chantry was formed based on the Chant of Light. Andrastians believe that when the Chant is spread to all four corners of Thedas and everyone believes in the Maker, he will return to his people and the land will be returned to its former glory."

Dean laughed. "Yeah, we have something like that where I come from. It's called Christianity. But what does all of that have to do with magic?"

"The Tevinter Imperium was and still is ruled by powerful mages called magisters. The Chantry teaches that magic is inherently evil and those who wield it are more susceptible to corruption by demons."

"Where I come from, demons look for whoever they can find to enter."

Hawke shrugged. "I'm finding that more and more true in Kirkwall as well. I have seen demons corrupt so many people here that it's becoming a bit of an epidemic."

Dean's green eyes stared into hers, his expression deadly serious. "Trust me, this is a cake walk compared to my world. On top of demons, me and Sam have to figure out a way to kill Lucifer without being butt-fucked by angels every step of the way. "

"What or who is Lucifer?" she asked with curiosity.

"Lucifer was an angel, one of God's first children" he explained. "From what we've been told, he didn't like the fact that God seemed to care more about humans than angels, so he rebelled. When he did, he got kicked out of heaven and into hell. The demons serve him and spend all of their time trying to find a way to release him from his prison."

"So what you call angels are benevolent spirits then?"

Dean harrumphed. "Yeah, except for the ones I've met don't seem all that benevolent. The ones that don't want me dead want to use my ass to house their head angel so he can fight Lucifer. Call me stubborn and old-fashioned, but I really don't want anyone using my balls but me."

Hawke appeared thoughtful for several minutes as if she were trying to process the information. When she finally spoke again, her voice was barely above a whisper. "Kind of like what happened to Anders."

The older Winchester's brow arched as he tilted his ear closer to her. "What was that?"

"Anders," she said a bit louder, "he is possessed by a spirit of justice…a benevolent spirit who wants to right the wrongs of the Circle. I suppose it's very similar…on a much smaller scale of course."

"Yeah, except for where I come from, when an angel moves in whoever you were gets evicted completely."

"I sometimes wonder if it's only a matter of time before that happens to Anders."

Dean's brow furrowed questioningly. "I thought you said he wasn't your boyfriend."

"He's not."

"The look on your face tells a different story."

Hawke sighed. "I suppose I do care about him, but…it would never work between us. Justice has too strong a hold over him. He is disturbed in ways you could not even imagine."

"I don't know" he smirked. "I have a pretty good imagination."

"So what about you?" she questioned. "Is there anyone special in Dean's life?"

"No girlfriend or wife if that's what you mean. I've never stayed in one place long enough. Besides, with what I do…it's just too dangerous."

She moved closer to him. "Maybe you just need to find a woman who can handle the danger."

Dean found himself once again mesmerized by Hawke's blue-green eyes. He had to admit, he had never met anyone like her before. He knew plenty of female hunters of course, like Jo, Ellen, Tamara…hell, even his own mother, but Hawke was…different. He didn't know how or why. He hadn't even known her a whole day and he knew very little about her, but he could just feel it.

The corner of his mouth turned up in a crooked smile. "Are you offering?"

Hawke slowly inched closer to him. She gazed into Dean's eyes for a long moment before closing the gap and pressing her lips to his. As soon as the tip of their tongues touched, he felt a small shock of electricity. It didn't hurt, he actually found it quite pleasurable, but it did take him by surprise and caused him to jump a bit. She pulled away slowly and smirked.

"Just testing the waters."

"How did you do that?" Dean asked with a bewildered grin. "The shocking thing?"

"Magic" she shrugged before finding her feet. She bent down and kissed his cheek before whispering in his ear. "You should see what I can do during sex."

Dean's already erect manhood strained against his trousers even more causing him to shift uncomfortably. "Is that an invitation?"

"Let's just wait and see what happens tomorrow" she teased. "I can't be expected to reveal _all _the fun stuff on the first night."

She turned and walked slowly up the stairs to her room, her hips swaying seductively as she went. Once Dean heard the door close behind her, he stood and made his way to the mansion's guest room. As he shut his eyes to try to get some much needed sleep, Dean realized that he and Sam needed to find a way out of Kirkwall and fast, before he did something really stupid…before he found a reason to stay.


	6. Chapter 6

The following morning, Hawke had Bodahn wake Dean so the two of them could head to the Hanged Man for her customary breakfast meeting with her friends. When she and the other two women met the Winchesters out on the Wounded Coast the day before, they had been searching for Harlot's Blush for a potion that the herbalist, Solivitus was making for Anders. Fortunately, they found the flower just before running into the brothers, so she saw no need to return to the Coast anytime soon…she hoped.

Dean observed his surroundings in silence as they made their way through the city. Hawke expected their trek to be awkward given what had taken place between them the night before, but it wasn't. It was actually quite the opposite, in fact. She found that she felt comfortable around this strange man who literally had dropped from the sky.

_My own personal gift from the Maker, _she mused as she looked him up and down for the dozenth time. He had to have been the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. He was tall, broad-shouldered and had a smile that caused a garden full of butterflies to flutter in her stomach. He was a little rough around the edges, but that was one of the things Hawke found most attractive about him.

When they finally reached the Hanged Man, Hawke went directly upstairs to Varric's room with Dean trailing closely behind. All of her companions were already gathered around the table and deep in conversation. Fenris was the first to notice the two of them and sneered at Dean after staring at Hawke for a long moment. He was obviously jealous and wasn't even trying to hide that fact. Anders decided to take a completely different approach to Dean's presence and completely ignored the both of them. Hawke's eyes scanned the group until they fell on a head full of chestnut brown hair lying on the table next to Isabela's arm.

"Sam? Are you okay?"

When he didn't move at all, Dean yelled. "Yo! Sammy! Rise and shine!"

The younger Winchester's head rolled to the side as he peered up at his older brother through a half-lidded eye. "Dude, are you trying to make my head explode?"

Dean chuckled. "Rough night?"

Isabela scowled. "Not as much as I wanted it to be. He passed out on the floor right after we got into my room."

"Sam never could hold his liquor worth a shit" the older brother informed the pirate. "I, on the other hand, would never disappoint a woman like that."

"Mmmm" she hummed. "Maybe I should bring _you _home tonight." Hawke glared at her friend, warning the pirate to back off. Isabela sat back in her chair and shrugged. "But unfortunately I have other plans."

"You're loss sweet cheeks" Dean smirked.

"But maybe it'll be Hawke's gain" she arched a brow at her friend.

"I'd be okay with that" he whispered into Hawke's ear. The smell of his cologne, the feel of his hot breath against her skin, the nearness of his body all served to make her knees feel wobbly to the point she was afraid she might fall. Instead, she turned to him with a snide expression and said, "Sorry sweetie, but I'm nobody's fallback girl. It's too bad for you, too. You'll never know what you're missing out on."

Dean moved closer to her, his lips just inches from her ear. "I would never think of you as a fallback girl, sweetheart. I was just playin' around to piss Sam off. There's only one woman in this room I want…and she ain't a pirate."

Hawke couldn't stop her body from shuddering, but she pulled back all the same. She stared into Dean's green eyes, her expression aloof. "There must be a lot of stupid women in your world if they fall for that kind of bullshit. I, however, am not buying the bill of goods you're trying to sell."

He gave her a lopsided grin. "I guess I'll have to try to be a better salesman from here on out then."

A loud cough interrupted their banter. When Hawke turned to see its source she found that Fenris's sneer had turned into a full-on snarl. He was nearly panting with anger at the exchange that was playing out in front of him. Even the lines of lyrium embedded into his skin were glowing faintly.

"Well this is really…awkward" Varric said with a hint of nervousness in his voice as he stared at Fenris from the head of the long table. He leaned over and patted the seat to his right. "Hey Hawke, go ahead and sit down. I already ordered breakfast for you and your new friend. Should be here any minute."

Hawke took the seat Varric offered with Sebastian on her right leaving Dean to stand near the doorway. The only empty chair left at the table was between Fenris and Anders and she knew that he would be taking his life in his own hands if he sat between those two. She flashed her most winning smile at the Chantry brother sitting next to her.

"Sebastian, I hate to ask, but would you be an absolute dear and let Dean take your seat? I think he would probably be more…comfortable sitting next to me."

The Prince of Starkhaven gave a slight bow of his head. "Of course, Hawke" he replied before taking the seat between the other two men.

Dean sat down next to Hawke and mumbled a quiet, "thanks." In a matter of minutes, the barmaid was serving their food and drinks and just like the previous evening, the group of friends sat around and chatted about nothing and everything. When they had their fill and their plates were all pushed back, Hawke decided it was time to get down to business.

"So what's on the agenda for the day?" she asked.

Aveline opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out, one of her guardsmen appeared through the open doorway, panting from the exertion of running all the way from the Keep. He was still gasping for air when he handed a rolled up piece of parchment to Hawke that bore the seal of the Viscount. Hawke pursed her lips in worried confusion as she broke the wax emblem.

"What's this all about?" she asked as she unrolled the heavy paper. "Messages are usually delivered to my estate."

"I went there first, Serah Hawke" the young man told her after finally catching his breath. "Your servant told me I would find you here. The Viscount said it was urgent so I ran all the way."

"You did well Ames" Aveline said with an authoritative nod. "Hawke will handle it from here. You're dismissed."

The guardsman clapped a fist to his heart and gave a sharp bow. "Yes, Captain" he replied before quickly disappearing out the door.

Hawke's eyes scanned over the neatly scrawled words on the parchment before rolling it back up and shoving it into the inside pocket of her coat. "I need to get to the Keep right away" she informed them. "Fenris, Merrill and Sebastian…you'll come with me. Aveline, I want you Anders and Varric to take Sam and Dean to the armorer and weaponsmith to get them outfitted with some gear that they will be comfortable with.

"Hey, what about me?" Isabela asked with a pout as she folded her arms over her ample chest.

"I thought you told me yesterday that you had a lead on the relic. Since you hadn't mentioned locating it, I assumed that you would want the day to follow up on it."

"Oh…right" the pirate smiled sheepishly.

"Unless you _want _to go to the Keep with me."

Isabela shrugged like a reprimanded child. "No…but I wouldn't mind going shopping."

"Izzy, if you want to go with the others to take Sam and Dean shopping, I won't stop you."

"But I wasn't asked."

Hawke rolled her eyes before sighing with exasperation. "Isabela…would you please go with Aveline and the others to take Sam and Dean shopping?"

A wide grin spread across the pirate's face. "Actually, I have other things I need to do today."

Hawke grimaced with bewilderment. "Then why in the Maker's name were you making such a fuss?"

The other woman smirked. "I just don't like being left out is all."

The dark-haired mage shook her head in annoyance. "Whatever. Let's just get moving." She stood and tossed a small pouch onto the table in front of Aveline. "Get them something high quality, but make sure it's something they can move in. I don't think either of them has ever worn actual armor, so plate or chain is out of the question. Figure out what weapons suit them best as well."

"Of course, Hawke" Aveline nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Wait" Dean protested as Hawke made her way to the door. He didn't relish the thought of being stuck with Anders for the entire day. "So what do we do after that?"

"We'll meet back here in two hours. I have a feeling that whatever this is, is going to get very ugly very quickly."

"Greaat" Dean scowled.

Once Hawke was gone, Dean and Sam followed the Guard Captain and the two men out of the tavern and down the street to the market. There were several vendors selling their goods from stalls in the streets, but Aveline ignored them and headed straight for a rundown looking building tucked between what looked to be a hat shop and a bookstore.

"Master Wade is the best armorer in Thedas" Aveline informed the brothers. "He should have exactly what we're looking for."

Dean grunted with disbelief. "If he's the best, why's his shop in a shit-hole dump like this?"

The Guard Captain frowned. "He's…hiding, you might say."

"Hiding from what?"

"Not what…who" Anders interjected. "He had a bit of a run-in with the Grey Wardens in Ferelden a few years back. His boyfriend promised that he'd outfit all of the Wardens in Amaranthine, but when the city was attacked by darkspawn and were on their way to Vigil's Keep, he snuck out leaving Herren holding the bag. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure if he's hiding from the Grey Wardens or his ex."

Dean flashed an uncomfortable half-smile. "Good to know."

When Aveline opened the door to the darkened shop, the bell attached to it jingled quietly. Other than the sunlight streaming in through the small front window, the only light in the place was a soft glow emanating from under the door at the back of the room. The sound of clanking metal could be heard coming from that direction and they stood there in silence for several minutes waiting for anyone to come greet them.

Suddenly, Sam grabbed his forehead and cried out in pain as his knees hit the floor. Dean quickly bent down next to him. Sam had been quiet all morning, but Dean assumed his brother was just suffering from a bad hangover. The look on Sam's face told him that it was something much worse. For a moment, Dean wondered if it had something to do with demon blood but quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. He was just getting to the point where he trusted Sam again and he was trying not to jump to conclusions.

"What's wrong Sammy?" he asked worriedly as he looked into his brother's pain filled eyes.

"I don't know" Sam hissed through gritted teeth. "I just feel like my head's gonna explode and I keep seeing these…images." His body twisted in agony before he could explain further.

"Images of what?" When Sam didn't answer right away, Dean began shaking his shoulders. "Sammy, what are you seeing? Is it Lucifer?"

"No…monsters…telling me they can take the pain away" he choked, "…and some kind of dark place…off in the distance."

"Demons…in the Fade" Anders observed with furrowed brows. "But the only way he could see that when he's awake would be…"

The tall blonde man hurriedly dropped down to his knees in front of Sam and placed his hands on the sides of the younger Winchester's head. Dean shoved the mage away, causing Anders' back to hit the floor. Undeterred, the mage scrambled back toward Sam. Dean drew back his fist to punch Anders, but the mage caught it before the older brother could make contact with his nose.

"Stop!" Anders demanded. "If you don't let me do something, he's going to lose control completely and there is no telling what will happen then. And that's only if he doesn't give in to the demons first."

"Stay away from him you son of a bitch." Dean snarled.

"Back off, Dean" Sam growled, his face wracked with pain. "Let him fix this if he thinks he can."

The older Winchester glared at Anders menacingly. "If you do anything to hurt him, I will kill you. Do you understand me? I will rip you apart with my bare hands."

The blonde mage narrowed his lids, his amber eyes mirroring the murderous look in Dean's green ones. He turned to Sam and placed his hands back on the younger brother's head and closed his eyes. A silver light shone between his fingers as he inhaled deeply. In mere minutes, he opened his eyes and then severed the connection between him and Sam.

"Better?" he inquired.

Sam nodded, his face flooded with relief. "Yeah…thanks."

Anders sat back on his heels and smiled with self-satisfaction. Dean, however, was not only still worried and angry, but also confused by the events that had just taken place. "So what did you do? What's wrong with him?"

The blonde man harrumphed. "Your brother is a mage. Didn't you know?"

Sam arched a brow. "Excuse me…I'm a what?"

"A mage" Anders replied with bewilderment. When Sam continued to stare at him as if he were speaking gibberish, Anders tried to explain further. "You know…magically gifted? Isabela said that she thought you might have lost your memory…but how could you forget something like that?"

"We didn't lose our memories" Dean retorted. "We're…just not from around here."

"Then where are you from?" Aveline queried. "Everyone in Thedas knows what a mage is."

"Yeah" Dean responded. "Hawke explained it to me last night. They're people who can use magic and the Chantry wants them all locked up for everybody's safety."

Anders scowled. "Surely you don't believe that bullshit."

Aveline rolled her eyes. "For the Maker's sake, not now Anders." She turned her attention back to Dean. "But you had never heard of them before? How can that be?"

"I told you," Dean answered matter-of-factly. "We're not from around here."

"If you're not from Thedas, then where are you from?" she pressed.

The older Winchester scanned his surroundings for a long moment. "A completely different world."

"Wait a minute" Anders interrupted. "I've seen this once before…when I was a Grey Warden in Ferelden. There was a woman who was at the Crown and Lion Inn in Amaranthine. I tried to use my charms on her, but she just laughed at me. She told me she was from another place…another world and she was just there to observe."

"Her name didn't happen to be Thalia did it?" Dean asked with a bitter chuckle.

"Actually it was" Anders replied. "Do you know her? Is she from your world?"

Dean pursed his lips angrily. "Yeah, we know her alright. She's the bitch who stuck us in this medieval hell-hole."

"So, there are no mages in your world at all? No Chantry to imprison people just for being born?"

"Anders," Aveline chided. "Can you just shut it about the plight of the mages for five bloody minutes? Please?"

"You don't care about our plight because you're part of the problem" Anders retorted.

"Excuse me!" Sam exclaimed. "Can we please get back to the subject at hand? You can start by telling me what the hell's wrong with me."

The blonde mage shook his head. "There's nothing wrong with you, Sam. The only explanation I can think of is that there has to be something in your world that is like magic and you had a spark of it. It must have amplified when you came to Thedas…but you are most definitely a mage…and for some reason the demons want you…badly. I could feel it when I was trying to heal your pain."

"Figures" Dean harrumphed. "We go into a completely different universe and you still have demons chasing your ass trying to make you their bitch."

"You've had problems with demons before? In your world?" Anders questioned.

The older Winchester nodded solemnly. "When Sam was still a baby, a demon bled into his mouth after it killed our mom. We've been chasing them and ganking them ever since."

"Ganking?" Varric asked with a puzzled smirk.

"Yeah…you know…killing them."

The dwarf rubbed his chin between his thumb and index finger. "I kind of like that. I'll have to work it into my next story somewhere."

"So is this going to happen a lot?" Sam asked, interrupting their banter.

"Unless you learn to control it" Anders informed him.

"So how do I do I learn to control it?"

"By learning spells that will help you wield it properly." the blonde mage replied. "Hawke, Merrill and I are mages. We can teach you. It won't be easy, however, and it will take a lot of work but you should be okay in a few months…maybe a year."

"A year?" Dean asked incredulously. "Sorry to break it to ya Blondie, but me and Sam don't plan on stickin' around for that long."

"You have no idea how long you are going to be here, though, do you? So while you're here, Sam needs to learn to control his gift…Unless you want him to be taken over by demons that is. Because they won't stop."

Sam shook his head. "No. I want to learn. What do we need to do first?"

"Well" Aveline replied. "I think the first thing we should do is get you two your weapons and armor before Hawke gets back and skins us all alive."


	7. Chapter 7

Hawke paced back and forth across the wooden floorboards in Varric's room at the Hanged Man? Where were they and why in the Maker's name was it taking so long to get bloody armor? If Isabela had tagged along with them at least Hawke would know why they weren't back yet. The pirate would have dragged them into the hat shop and she and Merrill would have wasted at least half an hour trying on the gaudiest offerings.

The dark haired mage was starting to get worried. They were already a half hour overdue and there was no sign of any of them. Sending Anders off with anyone else was always a crap shoot. Not only did she have to worry about him getting caught by templars, but she also had to worry about him losing control of Justice and between Dean's snarkiness and Anders' jealousy issues, it wasn't exactly a farfetched idea. There was a reason she had sent Aveline with them, after all. She thought of all people, the Captain of the city guard would be able to keep a rein on those two, but what if she had been wrong?

Just when Hawke was getting ready to send out a search party, her friends finally showed up. Dean looked absolutely dashing and the armor he had chosen complemented her own very well indeed. He was dressed in black leather just as she was and even sported a long duster like hers with the only difference being the collar. Where hers was short and stood up at her neck, his lay flat around his nape and collarbone. His boots were heavily soled with silver buckles and the tops ended just above his calves. His trousers were a bit looser than hers and fashioned of softer suede instead of hard leather. His tunic was of the same material as his pants and laced up the front and beneath that he wore a black linen shirt. On his back were the sheaths of two ebony-handled short swords and at his hips hung two small crossbows that looked like miniature versions of Bianca

He flashed his signature lop-sided grin which caused his green eyes to twinkle with boyish mischief. "Well, what do you think?" He took a step forward, grabbed his leather lapels and did a three hundred and sixty degree turn. "Do I make this look good or what?"

A girlish giggle escaped Hawke's lips which she quickly covered with a throat-clearing cough. "Very nice, Dean."

Her eyes moved to Sam and she was taken aback by the sight of him. He wore a jacket made of heavy black velvet with thick silver threading at the large cuffs of his sleeves and the coat's high collar. Silver buckles adorned the front to hold it together, but the younger Winchester wore it open over a white linen shirt which he kept untucked from heavy black wool trousers which were tucked into boots identical to Dean's. The clothing, however, was not what shocked Hawke. What really threw her was the long black and silver staff Sam had strapped to his back. Her puzzled blue-green eyes met Anders' amber orbs.

"There's been a…development" the blonde man informed her. "It seems that our new friend is gifted."

Hawke blinked rapidly several times before Anders' words really sank in. "But how is that possible?"

"Mister Wizard over here thinks Sam had some sort of magical power before we even left our world and when we got here it just…got bigger" Dean replied.

"Which means," Anders continued after shooting a dirty look in Dean's direction, "that we will have to train him to use his gifts. The demons are already after him and no one is really safe around him until he learns to get a handle on his magic."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked with a sneer.

"When mages come into their gift as children," Hawke interjected, "they usually find out about it by causing something detrimental to happen. I learned that I was a mage when I was seven after I encased my brother in a thick barrier of ice. If my father hadn't been a mage, it might have taken days to chip through that thing."

"And I lit my family's barn on fire" Anders confessed. "Neither of my parents was a mage, so the barn ended up burning to the ground. My father had me hauled off to the Circle the very next morning."

Merrill stepped forward. "As we grow, so too does our power. With Sam coming into his power at his age, the results of him losing control like a child coming into his magic could be…"

"Catastrophic" breathed Hawke, finishing her elven friend's thought. She sighed heavily. "Unfortunately, I need to deal with the Viscount's problem before I can do anything for Sam. It seems that Seamus has come up missing again, but this time he left a note informing his father that he has decided to join the Qunari. The Viscount, of course, would like for me to handle the situation and get Seamus back to the Keep without causing an all-out war." Her eyes moved between Merrill and Anders. "Why don't the two of you take Sam back to my estate and begin working with him." She turned to Fenris. "Since I am more than likely going to have to speak to the Arishok, I would like for you to come with me." She then turned her attention to Dean, Varric and Sebastian who were standing nearby. "I would like for the three of you to come along as well. Aveline, go back to the barracks and wait to see if he changed his mind and decided to return there."

After giving everyone their orders, Hawke headed for the door and down the stairs. She wasn't even sure what she was going to say when she got to the compound or even who she was going to talk to. If Seamus had really converted, how would she ever convince him to return home? She understood Dumar's concerns about his political position, but at the same time, Seamus was a grown man and should be able to make his own decisions about his own life. Then there was the Arishok. Even if she could somehow manage to sway Seamus's decision, would that bull-headed oxman let the boy go?

"So what exactly is it that we're supposed to be doing?" Dean inquired just before they reached the steps leading down to the docks.

Hawke quickly explained the situation as best she could to him without going into a lot of detail. When she finished, Dean just stared at her thoughtfully for a long moment before shrugging his shoulder.

"Okay then. I'll let you and Fenris do the talking and I'll just stay in the background looking pretty yet menacing."

Varric chuckled. "That's usually the way I handle these situations. The less I have to talk to those horn-heads, the better."

* * *

Dean had seen a lot of things in his time, but nothing really prepared him for his first glimpse of a Qunari. Hawke hadn't been exaggerating when she called them oxmen. They all had bodies that looked to be a result of Arnold Schwarzenegger back in his Conan days mating with Shaquille O'Neal, but their skin had a bluish-grey tint and they all sported what looked to be red war paint on various parts of their bodies and faces. Their noses were more like what you would find on an animal and huge horns protruded from the sides of their heads above very elven-looking ears. Dean had to admit to himself that he was just a little intimidated by the large, brutish looking creatures. When the one outside of a large gate spoke to Hawke, Dean half expected it to grunt like a bull, but it didn't. It actually sounded human.

Once through the gate, they approached a set of stairs with what looked to be a throne sitting at the top. Atop the throne sat what had to be the Arishok. He was pretty much what Dean was expecting-just as ugly as the others, but dressed in full plate armor with an air of superiority.

They discovered that the Viscount's son had actually left the docks because he had received a letter from his father to meet at the Chantry. The Qunari leader and the mage discussed someone named Mother Petrice and the Arishok promised that the woman would be dealt with if she had threatened anyone under his command again. Hawke seemed to have no problem with the Qunari's threat toward the woman and they left the compound immediately after.

Dean, as confused as ever, grabbed Hawke's shoulder just as they reached the streets of Lowtown. "So do you mind filling me in on a few things? Who the hell is Mother Petrice?"

"She is a priestess of the Chantry that I met before the Deep Roads expedition. She has been doing everything in her power to turn everyone in Kirkwall against the Qunari for years and I have been doing everything I can to put out her fires."

"So this is a trap." Dean sighed with annoyance. "I figured as much."

"This is most definitely a trap. The question is…to what end? What is Petrice planning?"

"Only one way to find out."

Instead of reporting back to the Viscount, Hawke had made the decision to go straight to the Chantry and deal with the situation herself. The entire way there, Sebastian kept trying to convince her that the Chantry and most especially the Grand Cleric would never involve themselves in such schemes…that it must have been some sort of misunderstanding. Hawke, however, didn't even acknowledge his words. Her face was set with determination, as if she was getting ready to finally delve out an overdue ass kicking.

When they finally entered the Chantry, Hawke looked around for several moments. She shook her head, her lids narrowed over bright blue-green eyes. "Something's not right here. It's too quiet."

"Isn't that usually how traps work?" Dean observed.

She pointed to the lower balcony directly in front of them. "There. That's Seamus."

"Is he…praying?" asked Dean.

"Why would someone who converted to the Qun be praying to the Maker?" Varric mused.

"_That_ is a very good question" Fenris responded.

"Maybe he's seen the error of his ways and decided to turn his face back to the Maker" Sebastian offered.

Hawke harrumphed. "Doubtful. It's more likely that Petrice had him tied up in that position until he confessed his sins." She exhaled slowly. "I guess there's only one way to find out for certain though."

They ascended the steps and approached the Viscount's son from behind as gingerly as they could. Hawke knelt at the boy's back and reached out to touch his shoulder. Seamus immediately fell to the side, a large knife protruding from his chest. In the time it took Hawke to gasp at the sight, nearly a dozen people poured in through one of the side doors on the main floor, led by a smug looking blonde woman dressed in a robe.

"Serah Hawke" the blonde woman tsked. "Look at what you have done. To pounce upon the Viscount's son, a repentant convert, in the Chantry itself…A crime with no excuse. Your Qunari masters will finally answer."

Hawke stood and crossed her arms over her chest. "I knew that you weren't bright, but are you really this stupid Petrice? All this will do is make people hate you."

The Mother sneered. "I have kept the fear of the Qunari fresh in every sermon, every prayer. The faithful will know whose word to believe. When the people learn of this attack, they will rise…not zealots and the unknowing, but the true majority."

Hawke chuckled quietly and flashed a sardonic smirk. "Great plan. Bravo. I guess you have it all figured out, Petrice…that is until people start dying in a war with the Qunari. But I suppose that doesn't concern you in the least, right?"

Petrice raised her chin proudly. "To die untested would be the real crime. People need the opportunity to defend faith…starting with you." She turned to the people at her back. "Earn your reward in this life and next." She then pointed to the five people standing on the balcony. "These heretics must die for their crimes. We will show the heathen beasts that Kirkwall and the Chantry are not afraid to fight their evil."

Hawke pulled the staff at her back before throwing a large ball of fire into the crowd. Petrice ran toward the staircase leading to the upper floor and Dean pulled one of the small crossbows at his hip. He fired a bolt at the blonde woman, but missed by a couple of inches. Although the weapons were triggered like a pistol, they didn't handle like one. He decided that he would have to get some practice before he would be able to use them effectively, so he pulled out the two swords at his back and ran down the steps to his right to take out a man in armor who was ascending them. He was a bit surprised at how well he was able to use the blades. He had become accustomed to the demon killing dagger that Ruby had given to him and Sam, but the swords were actually easier for him to handle because he didn't have to get in as close to his target. He hacked and slashed through another soldier while Hawke continued to throw flames and ice intermittently. More people had flooded in through the front door, but the five companions were able to rout them rather easily.

Just after the last woman had fallen from an arrow that Sebastian had fired, the sound of footsteps descending the stairs from the upper floor cut the silence. It was Petrice accompanied by a much older, grey-haired woman in a similar looking robe. Dean guessed that it must have been the Grand Cleric that Sebastian was always going on about. An evil grin crept across Petrice's face as she stared into Hawke's eyes and spoke to the older woman's back.

"Do you see, Your Grace? Traitors attacking the very core of the Chantry." She moved to stand beside the Grand Cleric who had stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Her face was solemn as she continued speaking. "They defile with every step."

"The stench of death and blood permeates these hallowed halls, young mother" the older woman spoke with an even voice. "It is as you predicted…all too well."

Hawke glared at the younger priestess. "She's on to you Petrice. Quick…lie harder."

"Don't you spout your Qunari filth at me" Petrice sneered. "This is a hand of the Divine."

The Grand Cleric's face remained stone as she addressed her charge. "I have ears, Mother Petrice. The Maker would have me use them."

"Viscount Dumar's son is dead" Hawke informed the older woman. "Killed here, in your name."

"I'm sure my name won't like that" the Grand Cleric retorted, her expression unchanging. She turned her eyes to the young Mother. "Petrice?"

The blonde woman shook her head. "Seamus Dumar was a Qunari convert. He came here to repent and he was murdered."

Hawke peered down at the carnage at her feet. "Love or hate the Qunari, even a blind nug could see she took this too far, Your Grace."

Petrice furrowed her brow and stepped forward until she and the mage were nearly nose to nose. "No price is too much when we speak of eternity" she hissed.

The Grand Cleric stepped between the two women and gently pushed Petrice back a step. "Eternity is long enough that we need not rush to meet it. Wouldn't you say, Petrice?"

The young Mother glared at Hawke. "They deny the Maker."

The older woman's lids narrowed and her voice raised. "And you diminish him, even as you claim his side. Andraste did not volunteer for the flame." She turned to Hawke. "Serah Hawke? I understand that you count the Captain of the City Guard as a friend?" The mage gave a small bow and the Grand Cleric circled to her charge before continuing. "The young mother has erred in her judgment. A court will decide her fate. The Chantry respects the law, and so must she."

Petrice appeared shocked at her superior's words. "Grand Cleric?" The older woman didn't say another word as she began ascending the stairs. Petrice called after her. "Grand Cleric?"

The young Mother turned just in time to receive an arrow through her midsection. She stared down at it for a moment as blood dripped from her mouth and onto the marble tiles below before dropping to her knees. Confusion filled her blue eyes as she peered up at Hawke. Another arrow soared through the air and landed right in the middle of Petrice's forehead which caused her to fall back. A Qunari stepped out from the shadows.

"We protect those of the Qun. We do not abandon our own" he explained before silently disappearing once more.

The Grand Cleric, who had reached the top of the stairway, gripped the banister. She sounded tired as she spoke. "Please…send for Viscount Dumar" she requested before walking away, leaving Hawke and her four friends alone.

The dark-haired mage turned to the others. "Varric, would you please go to the Keep and tell Aveline what happened? She can deliver the news to the Viscount. Sebastian and Fenris, I would like for the two of you to go to the Gallows and ask for Knight-Captain Cullen's assistance in removing these bodies. I'm sure that he would like to know about his templars that were involved in all of this. Dean and I will stay here and wait. We'll lock the doors behind you when you leave. We wouldn't want anyone to walk in off the street and find this mess. It's liable to start a full-scale panic."

"Wouldn't you rather me stay here with you?" Fenris questioned. "In case there is more trouble?"

"I think Dean and I can handle it" Hawke replied. "Besides, Cullen knows you Fenris. He's never met Sebastian before."

"That's true" Sebastian concurred. "Even though I am a brother, I have never actually been to the Gallows nor have I met the Knight-Captain. With everything that's been happening lately he would probably be more likely to believe the request came from Hawke if you went along." The Chantry brother gave Hawke a sly wink that Fenris failed to notice.

"I suppose you are correct" Fenris sighed. The expression he wore made it very well known that he was less than happy with the situation though.

Once Sebastian, Fenris and Varric were gone and the Chantry was locked down, Hawke silently headed for the stairs and sat down on the fifth step up. Dean plopped down next to her and leaned forward, his forearms resting on his knees. He looked back at her.

"You okay?"

Hawke shook her head. "Not really…no" she confessed. "For the life of me, I just can't understand it. Why would anyone _want_ to start a war? Especially over something as silly as religion. The Qunari weren't hurting anyone. Having them holed up at the docks for the past three and a half years was a bit unsettling of course, but if Petrice hadn't started all this, perhaps we wouldn't need to fight them. The Arishok isn't going to just let this go. This will lead to open war. I would stake my life on it."

"Where I come from, most wars are started because of religion. I guess things aren't any different here. The whole story you told me about Andraste…that was a war started over religion wasn't it? And I'm guessing that one wasn't the last one before now."

Hawke waggled her head again. "No. Not even close. The Chantry seems to be more about war than peace most of the time I guess."

Dean squinted and stared at a statue of Andraste that was standing by the staircase across the blood stained floor. "As long as we're here Hawke, me and Sam will stand with you. You and your friends seem to be the only people around here without their heads up their asses."

The dark-haired mage laid a hand on the older Winchester's left thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thanks, Dean. I think we're going to need all the help we can get."

Dean turned and gazed into Hawke's bright blue-green eyes for a long moment. Before either of them really realized what was happening, their lips met for the second time. Dean ran his right hand up Hawke's back and up to the nape of her neck. He pulled her in closer to him and she encircled his waist with her arms. When their tongues met, he felt the same shock of electricity that he did the night before, but he didn't pull away or jump. He savored the sensation. She smelled of exotic flowers and ocean mist. Her lips tasted like the honeyed wine she had drank after her breakfast. He became completely lost in the moment, completely lost in her. His stomach lurched and he forced himself to pull back.

"Is something wrong?" she asked with a mixture of curiosity and lust dancing in her turquoise eyes.

That was the million dollar question. What was wrong? That feeling he had way down in his gut, it was one he had denied himself ever since he could remember. It was something he wouldn't…couldn't allow himself to feel. He pushed it down to get lost in all of the pain and anger he always carried within him.

"Nope" he finally replied. "I just figured church lady might get a little pissy if she caught us making out in the chapel surrounded by a bunch of stiffs."

Hawke squinted as if trying to decipher Dean's words before chuckling quietly. "You're probably right. The last thing I need is for Her Grace to call the templars on me for defiling the Chantry."

Neither one spoke another word until they heard a loud banging on the large wooden outer doors. Hawke quickly went to the entrance and removed the wooden beam that was holding them shut. She peeked out to make sure it was one of the people she had sent for before opening the doors and standing to the side. An older man wearing a crown upon his bald head rushed in and hurried toward the lower balcony. He scooped Seamus up into his arms as tears began to stream down his cheeks. As Hawke went over to speak to him, Dean walked out the door and down the concrete stairs. He was staring out into nothingness when Hawke finally joined him.

"Are you ready to go?" she queried. "There isn't anything more we can do here right now. Besides, Aveline said that she ran into my uncle on the way over. Apparently he's fit to be tied because my mother didn't show up for afternoon tea like she had promised. Aveline sent him back to my house to wait for me or mother to show up so now I have to go home and try to calm the bastard down."

"You don't think anything's happened to her do you?"

Hawke shook her head. "Mother has been busying herself by trying to find a 'suitable' husband for me. She probably just got wrapped up in talking to one of the other noblewomen and forgot all about Gamlen."

Dean gestured to the direction of Hawke's estate and flashed a crooked smirk. "Well then, after you, beautiful."


End file.
